So far away
by Not So Creative Student
Summary: While a certain renowned individual wanders around the Cafes of Lumiose, he meets some interesting people.
1. Chapter 1

**So far away**

**A/N: For the record, I did not write this, my friend did. He just wanted to upload it through my account.**

**I'm not writing anything at the moment, but I am playing Titanfall. It's pretty awesome, so if you have a copy, add HugeEmperor5416 on Xbox Live and whatnot.**

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An encounter in Café Cyclone

A/N: The characters are intentionally vague. It's a writing style. Also, the dialogue is alternating. Just go along with it.

_Deep inside Lumiose City, along Vert Plaza, lies a peculiar café known as Café Cyclone. This café is special that it is mainly based on kindness, such as giving tips to the bizarre regulars of this café, such as an impersonator, or the not-so-famous poet Lord Baird III, or even the Furfrou that always seems to ask for money for a coat styling, yet never actually gets one. It is situated at such a hidden part of the labyrinth that is Lumiose that not much people know about it. Even then, its gimmick makes this café unique, with word-of-mouth spreading quite fast among the gossiping streets of Lumiose, where style prevails among all. As a result, this café is quite jam-packed, with tourists coming in to see the impersonator showcase her talent, hear Lord Baird III with one of his poems and even give the Furfrou enough money to get someone to style its coat at the salon._

_ A lady then enters. She has this aura of style around her, with her clothing bought from the Lumiose Boutique, where one has to be of great style to enter, and where everything inside is of great cost. Her jet-black hair glimmers with the light, its beauty shining through its unkemptness. Her eyes are of color hazelnut, shining uniquely amongst the many, many people inside. Her poise is to be beholden, and her grace is quite exceptional. Some of the others start whispering about how she might be the Pokemon League Champion, the Savior of Kalos, the one who befriended Legendary Pokémon, such as Yvetal, Zygarde, Moltres and even the deranged Mewtwo. But, she pays them no heed. She tips very generously to the regulars, acting as if the money she just handed was at no expense. She even is delighted over the impersonator's ability to copy the major people in her journey, such as Gym Leaders, and listens intently over the poems of Lord Baird III. It seems she is a regular here too, as they immediately greet her welcome inside the café, and the Furfrou goes to her happily as soon as he sees her. She then sits down near the counter, grabbing some Moomoo Milk and drinking it. A random man then enters the café, tips the regulars and takes his place near the lady. He then speaks._

"Why hello there, beautiful!"

_The lady does not mind the trite approach and continues drinking with a frown. The lady then slows her drinking down to a sip and looks forward wistfully. It seems that some tears would start flowing down her hazelnut eyes, but they don't. Even so, the expression on her face was perceived by the man as one of sorrow, of guilt, and most important of all, one of heartbrokenness._

"So, why does a pretty lady have such a long face?"

"Shut up."

"But…"

"Please."

_The man is rebuffed by the lady. But he persists with his perceiving and analyzing. He notices that she is on the edge of bursting into tears. He drops his approach of being a skeevy guy, just as a few tears drop into her drink._

"Hey, I noticed your tears."

"What about it?"

"I'm asking you."

_The lady then toughens up, braces herself for what she's about to say, for what she feels right now hurts so much. The man braces himself as well for what she's about to say. He knows it will hurt her, but maybe he can help. This is, after all, Café Cyclone, the café in Lumiose which practically runs on kindness._

_ There is silence. Much silence. The café runs along and continues, while there is silence between the two. The lady then breaks the silence._

"So far away…"

"Come again?"

"I'm often so near him, and yet, I often feel that I'm so far away from him…"

_The man notices she's about to tear up while talking. He pulls out a handkerchief and offers it to her._

"Here. This should help. Please continue."

_The lady wipes her face with the handkerchief and continues._

"My rival. He's a dense fart."

"Oh, what harsh language!"

"I speak the truth. He is very dense."

"Oh. (ahem) Please continue."

"Okay. So, as I was saying, he's a dense fart. Throughout our collective journeys, we grew together. My first impression was that he's so aloof, being all snarky and that, but then after the forest, I started to see him differently."

_The man ponders to himself as the lady drones on about how dashing her rival is. He sees the lady's badges. It seems that she has all the badges of the region. What's more, she has a Blue Trainer Card, different from the regular Green card. She must've done something of great renown. At least, that's what he learned about Trainer Cards from the Pok_é_mon League. Maybe the rumors around the café were true. But maybe there weren't. Anyways, he is then called out by the lady._

"Excuse me, are you still interested?"

"Yes, I am. Could you continue, please?"

_The man thinks if he had seen her recently somewhere. He knows the who's who of this region. Maybe it is her, but maybe it isn't. He still chooses to continue along._

"So, again, as I was saying he actually cared for us. As someone who just moved in Kalos at night, then woke up with 3DS in hand, I was surprised how warm the neighbors were. But he... He cared so much. My opinion of him warmed. But he too can be dense."

"How dense are we talking about? Like, Red dense? As dense as a Groudon dense?"

"No. Even worse. He deserves to be in his own tier of density."

"Oh?"

"He called me over to Café Soleil. I thought that it would be something else, something more profound…"

_She then blushes out of embarrassment and makes a disgusted face. After that, she finishes the Moomoo Milk and pulls one out of her bag. She offers one to the man, who respectfully declined. He is in anticipation over what exactly happened to her, as someone? Someone more dense than Red? So dense that he's in his own tier of denseness? This, he has got to see or hear for himself."_

"He just called me over so that he could propose-"

"Wait, propose?"

"A rivalry…"

"A rivalry?"

"A rivalry over to become the better Pokémon Trainer."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Really, he just got my hopes up. Ugh."

"Did you actually show any hints?"

"That's only one tale of his denseness."

_The lady gulps a bit more of her Moomoo Milk. She seems a bit less sad now than before. The man notices, but chooses to stay, because this story's getting interesting for him. Seriously, when someone proposes, a romantic proposal is usually the first thought, but then, a rivalry? This guy must be so dense over what a proposal means._

"So, I started dropping hints again from here and there. Maybe because I wanted his attention. I didn't fall THAT in love with him until much later. I just wanted his companionship and such."

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! Just go on. I'm interested."

"Okay, so at Route 7, something happened, and I was going to partake in a double battle with him! We were against our neighbors. I trained beforehand in an effort to impress him, but he didn't notice me much more."

"So, what happened?"

"At least he had fun. From there, we went to Ambrette City together."

_She wistfully looks forward, as if she's remembering a really sweet event. He decides to walk out, but he then decides against it. He's invested in the story already. He just decides to wait her out. And wait. And wait. And wait. She then continues speaking."_

"When I finally arrive at Ambrette, he grabs my hand."

"Wait-what? Why?"

"I told you, he's dense. He brought me over to the Fossil Lab and introduced ourselves. I thought he noticed me, as he then asked me to go over with him to the Glittering Cave."

"Ooh-la-la"

"Stop with the side-commenting."

"Sorry…"

_She takes a sip of her Moomoo Milk and takes the handkerchief to wipe away the milk moustache, then speaks again. The amazing thing with all this is that she still has the poise and gracefully does so. _

"He brought me over to Glittering Cave to help look for an assistant for Fossils. Seriously… At least we kicked some Team Flare butt together. We look great as a team. Sigh…"

_She wistfully looks forward again. She must really like that mental image of her and her rival together. Was it then that she started to fall in love with him? Or was this hindsight or even rose-tinted glasses?_ _She drinks the Moomoo Milk down. She tries to pull another one out, but she ran out of them. So, she decides to ask the bartender for some drinks. He complies. She then gave him a generous tip. This is, after all, Café Cyclone. Tips are the norm to show kindness. The man also orders some drinks for himself as well." She takes a sip of her drink and continues._

"So, we went ahead after Cyllage to Geosenge. But Geosenge won't be important. Yet."

_The lady coughs a bit, clears her throat and continues._

"We then went to Shalour City. Tell me. Have you heard of Mega Evolution?"

"According to what I know, the Pokémon needs two mediums to evolve in battle momentarily, a held item and something by the trainer."

"That's right. And I had to fight him over it. He suggested it, and he was so sure to win. Sadly, he didn't. I did. He… He just looked so sad… I…"

_She stops speaking for a while. She tears up, crying silently over her victory. The man pats her back for a while. She stops crying, wipes her tears away, and continues._

"I… I felt so guilty. It's like I crushed his dreams of being the better trainer. I felt broke up over this, that I stayed silent while he was talking about Mega Evolution. It didn't feel right that he should still stay strong after I crushed his dreams. I didn't even mean to…"

_She stops again. She orders another drink, and sobs a bit. Eventually, she regains her composure. The man is still there, listening intently. She continues again._

"I felt like a terrible person, so I went away from the tower and went to the gym to battle Korrina. I defeated her with ease. Yet, she sensed my problem in the gym battle and told me to follow her. And so I did. I followed her, and this time, she taught me how to harness the power of Mega Evolution on a Lucario that followed me around. It was in a battle. I barely won that one."

_The lady stands up from her seat, goes to the impersonator. The impersonator then mimics Korrina, who then obtains a very generous tip. The impersonator thanks the lady and the lady goes back to her seat. She continues her story._

"Where was I? Yeah. On my way out of Shalour, I saw him, my rival. I tried to avoid eye-contact with him, as I still felt guilty over beating him. But then, he stopped me. He had a bittersweet smile, but he came over to give me something."

"Was it his love?"

"…Didn't I tell you to stop commenting?"

"I'll shut myself up now."

"To continue, he gave me HM Surf. He said that it was to continue the journey, but maybe it was his way of trying to come on to me? I don't know."

_ She chugs down the Moomoo Milk down her throat. She then orders another one. She gets misty-eyed, but continues on with her story, after another sip._

"But then, I realized, I am in love with him. I am in love with my rival. Why? He was dashing, as I said earlier, and he was willing to swallow his pride. I can't do that…"

"So from there, what happened?"

"We then went to Coumarine. He challenged me this time. This time I actively tried to drop hints, like flirt with him, or even going easy on him as well. This continued for the rest of our journey together. He would challenge me, I would try to drop hints of my affection, even go easy on him, but I still…win…"

_She gulps down the Moomoo Milk down her throat. She orders another one, and sobs quietly. It seems that she's having a hard time remembering those things, but maybe it's that she keeps on crushing him again and again that's bothering her. After a while, she speaks, in between sobs._

"But we had to go back to Geosenge, something popped up. My neighbors, including my rival, all went there to stop Team Flare. It was there, I finally learned, I truly am in love with him. It was what he said that clinched it for me. He said, 'You're not in this alone! When I was in Lysandre's lab, the masked heroes told me what is going on. They also told me what Team Flare plans to do with the ultimate weapon! C'mon! Let's stop team Flare...No...We have to stop Lysandre himself! I... I want to protect my friends!' He's really dashing, and he cares. He cares so much…"

_The lady swoons for a bit and gets misty-eyed. She takes a sip of her drink and continues._

"So, we went in their hideout. It was all a blur after he asked me to stick with him throughout the hideout."

"Isn't that romantic?"

"I wish it was."

"Sorry, go on."

"After all was said and done, the hideout started collapsing, he grabbed my hand! My hand! We then started running out of the collapsing hideout. All this time, he was holding my hand. His hand was surprisingly soft, all without the ridges and calluses expected of a Pokémon Trainer. And while all this was happening, my heart was beating fast, as we were so close in proximity… The thought of it just makes me swoon…"

_And so, she does swoon. But she gets up_ _a few seconds after to continue her story._

"We made it out, and when he faced me, you know what he said?"

"What?"

"I respect you as a friend."

"…What?"

"You heard me, 'I respect you as a friend.'"

"Did he say that with a straight face?"

"Yes. He did say that with a straight face."

"He's getting your hopes up, right?"

"Yes, he is."

_She finishes up her drink, grabs another one, and finishes it up as well. She cries quietly, as she remembers what happened. She was considered a friend, nothing more. Just a friend… The thought falls on her like how a Pidgeot is brought down by a Smack Down. She tears up a bit. The man brings out another handkerchief silently and offers it to the lady._

"Sorry, but this is the last handkerchief I could give you. So, is this the reason why you are here?"

"No. It goes on further. After that, I flew away, as far as possible from Geosenge, all the way back to Anistar. I met a few of my neighbors along the way, but I was just focused on one thing. It was getting as far in my journey as possible away from him. But even then, when I went to Victory Road, I was him. He didn't look anything out of the ordinary, but I sensed his happiness."

_She stops, turns to the man, and rants._

"How could it be, that he's so happy… and I'm not? I'm just so angry, and he's happy? But why…?"

_She turns away and, through great willpower, stops the tears. She then continues._

"I battled him. I just crushed his team down. After he healed my Pokémon, I just skated away, without a word, with my hat down, to cover my face. Throughout the battle, I said nothing. It's just that, I just wanted to get away from him. It just hurts… so… much…"

_She stands up from her seat and starts to walk out._

"Thanks for listening to me, Professor. Now I have to go. See you."

_She walks out, tearing up. The Furfrou tries to catch up with her, but she went out. She then unleashes her Yvetal. She flies away, sobbing on its back._

_The man is left speechless at what he heard. He plays with the fabulous curl on his head. No wonder why she seemed familiar. She did change how she looked significantly, though. _

"May I have a drink, please?"

_The bartender obliges. He serves a drink for the man. The man then tips the bartender generously. The man downs his drink with gusto and puts it down. He then wipes the remaining droplets off his 4 o'clock shadow._

_ The man thinks a bit on what he just heard. He heard about what she did, but all this? Through her journey? He has a lot on his mind. He then asks the bartender something._

"Is she a regular over here?"

"Yeah. She often goes here when she's sad. The poor girl. If only we could do something, but we don't know who she's talking about."

"No one knows, not the poet, the copycat, not even the Furfrou?"

"None, sir. No one knows who her rival is, although judging by her beauty, she is unrivaled."

"I can drink to that."

_The professor immediately thinks on who could possibly have caught her protégé's eye. What he knew was that she often traveled with her neighbors, and that 3 of them were boys. Through many drinks, he tries to guess who is she pining over, and after many drinks comes up with someone._

"It might be Trevor."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Thanks for the food."

"No problem, Professor Sycamore. You are always welcome at Café Cyclone!"

_Professor Sycamore walks out of the café. He definitely owes Serena one for snapping him out of depression and even saving the entirety of Kalos from his former friend, who went berserk and genocidal. So, he'll try to help Serena on this one. But first, a drink. Café Cyclone was known for its kindness, but not for its drinks._

"Maybe Café Soleil would do. I might even see Diantha!"

_And with that, Professor Sycamore walks towards Café Soleil._

**A/N: Oh Sycamore, how you are so fabulous, yet so wrong. You'll hit on any pretty face, you'll support your closest friends, even if they're oh-so-wrong, and you don't even know the people you're sending out to fill your Pokédex. As for Serena, she'll get better.**

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**A/N: On a related note, I have not edited any of this whatsoever, so any dislikes and such will not be directed at me.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So far away**

An encounter in Café Soleil

(FINN) A/N: The dialogue is alternating. Just go along with it. May be OOC. You have been warned. I do not own Pokémon. Spoilers may be abound for the main story.

(ME) Note: Chapter 2 of my friend's fic. As always, comment, favorite and all that good stuff. Any thoughts on the story, comment them. I'll be sure to relay them to my friend.

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_Around the southern part of Lumiose, near the Pokémon Center, lies_ _Café Soleil, renowned around Kalos for where the famous actress Diantha can be found. Other than that, this is where many people meet up, where many relationships are formed, such as those of rivalry or even those of friendship. Many people who are stylish or who are of high-class go here as well._

_ A boy enters the café. He looks remarkably haggard when he enters. His long black hair looks messy and he also looks remarkably thin. His clothes also look very basic, only coming in blue, and to top it all off, he has not hat or stylish accessory to go along with him. Basically, he is the antithesis of style. In Lumiose City, that would be a great crime, but he just does not care. He wordlessly takes a seat near the counter. Unlike the individuals that enter this place looking for Diantha, he isn't looking for Diantha. Rather, he looks miserable. The people around him think there's something wrong with him, as he's ruining the unusually cheery mood of the café. They can't just force someone out just because he's a fashion disaster, so they just turn away from him. A random man then appears in the café. He looks noticeably tired as well. However, unlike the boy, he is the complete embodiment of style. His luscious locks impress the ladies around the café, and his five o'clock shadow draws them around him. Complete with his stylish wear, they swarm all over him. But with a wave of his hand, the crowd of ladies disperse, and he takes his seat next to the haggard boy._

"Hey there, lil' buddy. Would you like a drink?"

_The boy silently complies, as he just stays there, looking miserable. The man continues his spiel._

"I'm here looking for Diantha."

"Why would you be?"

"She's a close friend of mine.

"Huh."

"It seems like there's something on your mind."

_The boy's eye twitches a bit as he grabs his drink._

"It seems my intuition is right."

"It seems like I couldn't hide it, can I?"

_He gulps down his drink before he speaks._

"I am a horrible person."

_The man put down his drink when he hears that._

"Say what?"

"You heard me. I am a horrible person."

_The boy says that without any twinge of irony, but of sadness, desperation and depression._

"What exactly did you do?"

_The boy grunts a bit. It looks like he's about to tear up, but he prevents himself from doing so._

"I messed up bad."

_The man put down his drink and faces the boy. He adjusts his posture a bit to make him look more serious, menacing and such, and speaks._

"You're not being specific. Do you need another one?"

"Yes please."

"Waiter, make it so."

_The man gestures to the waiter to bring them both drinks. The waiter obliges, bringing to him, a special cocktail, and the boy, some grape juice._

"So again. What exactly did you do?"

"She came from a faraway region. She was with the neighbors when she went out. From there, we started to grow closer."

"Uh-huh."

"Yet, I feel like I did something wrong. She's been avoiding me ever since before."

_The boy shakes his drink a bit and ponders why. Meanwhile, the gears in the man's brain are spinning. He's thinking that maybe. Just maybe. This might be the guy. But that would be impossible, he thinks. It was Trevor… right? It can't be Tierno…_

"Was it something you said?"

_The boy frowns a bit and downs his drink. He asks for another one. He shanks his drink again for a bit before he takes a sip out of it. He still looks forlorn. Avoiding eye-contact, he says something._

"I wasn't being honest with myself."

"Please elaborate on what you are saying. I'm not getting it."

"I kept lying to myself about my feelings for her. I kept on saying that she's a friend. But, no."

_Some tears drop down from the boy's cheek. He grinds his teeth a bit._

"If only I wasn't lying to myself. If only… Maybe she wouldn't have run away."

_The tears then drop into his drink._

"I am a horrible person. We used to be so near, but because I pushed her away, she's now so far away…"

_The boy stands up to leave. He stopped the tears on his face, but judging by his expression, he just wants to cry. He wants to cry about his sob story. He's often lying to himself, but look where it got him. He goes out of the café. He tries to get on Altaria to fly away, but then, the man runs out the café onto the hard road of Lumiose and stops him._

"Stop!"

"What is it, Professor?"

"Your story seems familiar, could I hear more?"

"And draw out my sadness even further?"

"No. Recently, I heard of a story similar to yours. It was from a girl in Café Cyclone."

"Café Cyclone?"

"I went there while looking around for cafés, but that's another story. The thing is, you have to stop for a while. I need to correlate your story and hers. Just please. Continue with your account. I may be able to help."

_The boy stops for a while to think. Maybe the professor might be right. But then again, he could be a Gadfly who just wants to listen to gossip. Why else would he go from café to café? Was it to simply test their wares? Blow off steam? Get over Lysandre? See if I'm actually dutifully filling out my Pokédex? Beat me up for café money? But no matter, the boy decides that he is intrigued by the professor's proposition, so he goes down from his Altaria. _

"Changed my mind. Maybe you do have a point, Professor."

"Great. Get back inside and tell me what happened."

_The two settled down in their seats again. They were served more drinks. While the Professor faces the boy, he takes a sip of his glass. The boy coughs a bit, then begins speaking._

"So, it all started over at Vaniville. I was there with my neighbors. Suddenly, this new girl I've never seen before in my life arrives on the scene. She looked like a real angel, she was…"

_The boy blushes a bit, and then takes a sip out of his drink. The professor raises an eyebrow._

"From the beginning?"

"Sorry about that. All this time, I really was confused about everything. She kept on beating me, again and again, to the point that I felt my absolutely lowest. Well, look at what happened now. I'm a wreck. That was a retrospect, mind you. Only now, did I think of that, as back then, I just couldn't put a finger on her."

"You don't have to beat up yourself, man. Just continue on. At least, you know that you have feelings too."

_The man asks for another drink and reclines on his chair. He first gestures for the waiter for more drinks, then gestures for the boy to continue._

"I still remained enamored by her beauty, even if I was hiding it. But even then, cracks begin to spill out, right?"

"I feel you there. I really do."

"I began off-handedly complimenting her battling skills, then, in an attempt to see if she has what it takes, I gave her a tip book. I fell for her really quick. It was love at first sight. I decided that once we arrive at Lumiose City, I would try to propose to her…"

"Hold up, hold up, propose? To her? Do you even know what the word propose means now? The term is now more romantically-oriented."

"I did. I wanted to propose a closer, romantic, relationship."

_The boy laughs for a bit at the end of that sentence. He speaks with a bitter tone._

"And?"

_The boy smiles bitterly._

"I did propose."

_ The boy breaks out into hysterical laughter._

"I got closer, yes. But I got cold feet and instead proposed a rivalry."

_Bitter tears then streak down his face._

"I didn't know what I was thinking. Only now, in retrospect, did I realize that I was in love with her. And even then, I didn't even know I fell for her. I just felt weird inside. I wanted to talk to her."

"Cheer up, man! At least you got closer in many ways."

"And then I ruined it…"

"Come now, continue! There's a lot more I have to corroborate!"

"Alright. After that, we went to Route 5, where I gave her Honey as a not-so-thinly-veiled attempt on hitting on her. After arriving at Camphrier Town, we then went to Route 7. We couldn't go to the northern part of Lumiose, as the person there said that there was a power outage… Despite the workers letting other people through. And also there being lights on the other side… But enough about that. We went to Route 7 after. We were waiting for her to arrive for so long…"

"Was she worth the wait?"

"Definitely. Again, in retrospect."

"So, I took the initiative. I sided with her for a battle against two of my friends, Tierno and Trevor."

_"OK, let's battle. Tierno and Trevor, you'll battle against Serena and me!" The boy remembers saying with instinct. He sends out his Fletchling, she, her Fletchinder. The dancer sends his Corpish and the short one, his Pikachu. The Fletchinder effortlessly disposes the Pikachu, but her partner's Fletchling barely did any damage to the Corpish. The Corpish then took up the time to set up a Swords Dance. With that, it took a hit from the Fletchinder and releases a Crabhammer. It looked like the Fletchinder could not take the hit, but it somehow did. The Fletchling then defeats the Corpish with a quick Peck._ _"Everyone sure has a different approach to being a Trainer. Well, that was fun, but I guess we should head to Ambrette Town." He said when the battle ended._ _"That was some nice footwork!" Tierno conceded. "So you can't learn everything just from the Pokédex... I see!" Trevor exclaimed. She just stood there, smiling and raising her fist and pumping it in satisfaction. She had nothing to say. _

"I got to experience being close to her firsthand. It won't be the last. When I was close to her, I felt entranced, awestruck by her beauty, her poise and that mysterious feeling. I didn't know back then why I was attracted to her, maybe only for beauty or such, hence why I was aloof. It wasn't a good reason, and I was/am not sappy enough to fall for her just because of that. That's why I backed off for a while. I wasn't sure."

"You did the right thing. Continue."

"In Ambrette Town, we met up. I was going to tell something to her, but I chickened out. I decided not to push it. So instead, I told her about Mega Evolution. And so, we had more tag battles. Again and again, I wanted to tell something to her, but I kept on chickening out, but nothing. It all went back to Team Flare and Mega Evolution, again and again."

"So what did you want to tell her?"

_The boy takes a deep breath, and then speaks. _

"Why is it that I felt like this near you? My heart beats faster. My breath quickens. My neck feels like it is burning. Why?"

"You didn't realize anything yet, did you?"

"I was too stubborn and dense."

"Ahem. Very well then. Go on."

"So, at Shalour City, in the Tower of Mastery, it came down to me and her again. I just noticed something. She doesn't talk whenever we battle. The only time I heard her talk was during that one time. Anyways, it went like this."

* * *

_"I'll pass. Pokémon battling isn't really my scene. So, Mega Evolution would be way out of my league," Tierno said. "I want to complete the Pokédex first. If you try to do too much at once, you won't accomplish anything," Trevor said.__"So that leaves Serena and Calem, then," Shauna said. It was decided that the boy and the girl would battle for the Mega Ring, and thus, for the secrets of Mega Evolution. Before they battled, comments could be heard. "Oh, wow! I'll be cheering for both of you! " Shauna chirped in.__"The stones for Mega Evolution are just that precious, I suppose," Trevor replied. It was something from Tierno that struck the boy. "You're gonna fight over something even though you're friends?" The boy just swallowed, as she readied herself. "Serena, let's battle for it! No matter what the reason is, a battle is a good chance for us to compete and see who Vaniville Town's best Trainer really is! How about it?" She just nodded. The boy readied himself and before they battled, he then said, "I will master Mega Evolution and set myself apart from other Trainers. I'll also do it for my Pokémon-we've come so far together, and they never stopped believing in me, their Trainer. You and your Pokémon are stronger... I can tell just by looking at you. But I'm not going to lose. The winner of this battle will be me!" The battle began. He sent out his Meowstic, she sent out her Honedge. Meowstic attempted to use Light Screen, as none of its attacks would be effective against it. Honedge just started to use Fury Cutter, dealing a super-effective blow to the Psychic type. The next turn, Honedge went first due to its Quick Claw and struck the Meowstic down for critical damage. The boy recalled the fainted Pokémon and sent out Absol. In reply, she recalled Honedge and sent out Combusken. Combusken went first and knocked out Absol faster than 1-2-3 with Double Kick, dealing super-effective damage, with one of the hits dealing critical damage. Finally, he sent out Quilladin. She didn't recall her Pokémon. The Combusken used Ember, dealing super-effective damage, but Quilladin was not yet out. Quilladin used Bite, but it was not very effective. Combusken used Ember again, while Quilladin used Needle Arm, again dealing near-ineffective damage. The boy began regretting only making his Pokémon learn only two moves, both being ineffective against his current opponent. Quilladin only continued its token counterattack to Combusken's embers, but after a while, it finally fainted, nary a scratch on Combusken. The boy felt many feelings namely disappointment, inadequacy, rage, uselessness, weakness, and strangely, happiness. He did not know why he was happy about losing to her. "Your bonds with your Pokémon are really strong. I don't like losing much, but... I'm sure you'll be able to Mega Evolve your Pokémon!" he conceded while giving the girl 3000 Pokémon Dollars. "I'll bet the Professor will be happy if you master Mega Evolution. That's one way you can show mastery as a Trainer," he said. "Well, that's what the professor wanted us to do, after all! He said we should aim to be the best Trainers we can be and enjoy our journey!" Shauna said. "Tierno. Shall we work to be the best Trainers we can be, too?" Trevor asked to his friend. "All right then! Let's aim for the top! Hope to see you again soon, Serena! See ya, Shaunee!" Tierno said. And they all left, Calem running out immediately, feeling so frustrated. It was 8 pm already. The girl, meanwhile, looked troubled at how he reacted. He didn't have the will to carry on training, so he went to the Pokémon Center and cried himself to sleep. The morning after, he was out, wanting to go train, when he saw Serena. She had the Mega Ring on her, and she looked like she had the confidence from gaining a new badge. Admittedly, it looked good on her. But that was not the time to think about that. He wanted to battle her, but he was too weak. He wanted to beat her up and steal the Mega Ring, but that was just wrong. He wanted to cry into her shoulder and ask her the question that's been bugging him for some time, but he couldn't swallow his pride. But she's leaving fast, what should he do? He instinctively ran over to her. "Here take this. If you use the HM Surf, you can travel over the water. I'll challenge you to a battle again sometime. That's the best way to get strong, after all. I was lucky enough to meet you and end up traveling together, so I'd better take advantage of the opportunity to battle." She didn't say anything. She just smiled, waved and rollerbladed on her way to the next journey. He felt so confused at that moment. Those feelings from the beginning of their journey came back. He decided to go back to bed. It was 8 am on a Saturday, after all._

* * *

"Did you ever find out what you were feeling?"

"How else are we talking now?"

"…Right. What happened next?"

"Right, mostly preparation battles for Gym Leaders. Most notably, I kept losing."

"Around that time, I got back in contact with Lysandre."

"What I said back then after each battle showed how much of a depression I was falling into. I was getting frustrated so much, but I can't resist! I can't resist battling her, even if it will lead to my defeat! Maybe it's her determination, or her beauty or something I didn't know. All I know is, I was calling her again and again for some battles, and I come out more demoralized. Again, here are some choice quotes."

_"Even though we set off from Vaniville Town at the same time, there's a gap in our strength. Do you have something I don't? I guess I have to think about that... Well, good luck with your Gym Battle."_

_ "Battling with you is fun, but losing all the time doesn't really make me look all that good."_

"We had some bump-ins with Team Flare. They were merely a nuisance, but if there's one thing I noticed in all our battles was the Mega Blaziken she was lording over. If it wasn't her Doublade or Greninja, it would be Blaziken. It swept all my Pokémon. It was, and arguably still is, near-unstoppable. Then one day, after another practice battle, I snapped."

* * *

_"Why am I still playing catch-up to you?!" Calem cried after losing yet again. She used Greninja to defeat him this time. It was lopsided. He didn't even knock out Greninja. He felt so demoralized. But somehow, he still kept on going on. Was it because of that smile that always came after that battle? He wouldn't know. He's too depressed at this time. "My Pokémon are a lot stronger now, but you and your Pokémon are still just a little bit out of our reach... Here, I should heal your Pokémon. You're strong. I knew there would be lots of tough Trainers out in the world, but I wouldn't have guessed that my neighbor would turn out to be the one to beat! Well, just keep doing what you're doing and defeat that Gym Leader." He couldn't say that with a straight face. He just walked away. He wanted to cry. He could've sworn that Serena looked worried, but that didn't matter. He just went away. An hour later, she came out of the building, Psychic Badge in tow. He had to put on another façade, yet again. "I'm sure getting the Psychic Badge wasn't too hard for you to get, right Serena? Ready for a rematch? I think it would be fun to compete with my neighbor to be the best in Kalos. But I can't claim to be competing with you until I beat you at least once!" The Holo Caster beeped, and out came a message. "What's this?" "Pokémon Trainers. I come to you by the Holo Caster to make an important announcement. Listen well. Team Flare will revive the ultimate weapon, eliminate everyone who isn't in our group, and return the world to a beautiful, natural state. Unproductive fools are consuming our future... If nothing changes, the world will become ugly and conflicts will raze the land from end to end. I repeat. We will use the ultimate weapon and wipe the slate clean. I'm sorry, those of you who are not members of Team Flare, but this is adieu to you all." "What... was Lysandre saying? Wiping the slate clean? Eliminating everyone but Team Flare?! Serena! Let's split up and look for Team Flare's base! Where could Lysandre be, though... We first met him in Lumiose City... Maybe he's there?" Serena calmly nodded, and Serena went to Lumiose. Calem would've wanted to go, but he doesn't have a flying Pokémon to fly him there. Hopefully, Serena solves this before he even goes there. She's beaten every trainer who crossed her path, some, like him, multiple times. Maybe she can do this. As for him, try to catch up."_

* * *

"Again, very sorry about my pupil. I should've done more."

"What's done is done. Here's the more interesting part. It represented a major change in our relationship."

_The boy smiled bitterly yet again, and takes a drink._

"Let me guess. You screwed up?"

"In hindsight only, after all this time. Anyways, we went to Geosenge to stop their plans. I teamed up with her, as usual. I wouldn't know why, but it's usual for me."

* * *

_"Serena, you're not in this alone! When I was in Lysandre's lab, the masked heroes told me what is going on. They also told me what Team Flare plans to do with the ultimate weapon! C'mon! Let's stop team Flare...No...We have to stop Lysandre himself! I... I want to protect my friends!" the boy screamed, at the top of his lungs. The girl just smiled in response. They rushed inside, battling many, only learning of their true intentions on why they want to destroy the world. The girl defeated Lysandre and his admins, when they met Shauna, who unlocked the door for the girl to enter. The boy stayed behind to protect Shauna, who was weaker than me in terms of battling. It was all up to her now. The legendary Pokémon Yveltal burst out of the cocoon, ready to fight. The girl just had to catch it and calm it down. She sent out Lucario. Lucario whittled it down enough for a Poké Ball to be thrown. One… Two… Three… It broke out. It used Roost, which was a pain. Another Poké Ball was thrown. It had a special swooshing sound. One… Yveltal was caught. In a Poké Ball, mind. Only way it would have been better if it was a Nest Ball at full health, but Lucario outleveled it a bit. She sent Lucario to the PC and proceeded to use Yveltal. Lysandre appeared, decked out with weird, octopus-like robotic arms. He seemed to carry a Mega Device of some sort. He was poised to battle. "What a startling development! I never would've thought you were really a chosen one! So THIS is the mighty Yveltal?! I expected more from a Pokémon called a legend! You desire help from people? YOU need help from a human?" "Wh-what's going on with that outfit! Is that really you, Lysandre? Oh, whatever! Serena already beat you! What are you doing here?" Shauna blurted, as Lysandre towered over her. "For me, victory is using the ultimate weapon. In order to do that, I need to reclaim the Legendary Pokémon's power and send it to that weapon once again. I'll be taking the Legendary Pokémon back now! This time, I won't lose. I, too, shall use the Mega Ring and Mega Stone that you researched during your travels," Lysandre said, before the battle began. Yveltal defeated Lysandre's Mienshao in one single blow through its Oblivion Wing. It was switched out afterwards, as Lysandre recalled Mienshao and called out Honchkrow. Sylveon was sent out. After a couple of Calm Minds, it used Moonblast and instantly defeated the Honchkrow. It was switched out afterwards for Greninja, as Lysandre then sent out Pyroar. Greninja used Surf, and the Pyroar was simply swept away by the rush of water aimed at it. Lysandre sent out Gyarados. The girl, anticipating a Mega Evolution for this one, as he only had 4 Pokémon, also sent out her only Mega Evolvable Pokémon, her Blaziken. It seemed utter suicide to pit a Blaziken against a Gyarados to the boy, but the girl had a plan in mind. Sure enough Lysandre Mega Evolved Gyarados into Mega Gyarados. Blaziken also Mega Evolved and used Protect to get a hold on something and observe how exactly did its enemy fight. The Gyarados slowed down its floating and gained some red decals alongside a feeling of darkness. Blaziken noticed, and it went first. It used High Jump Kick, and everything was over. It was a super-effective hit. The Mega Gyarados was defeated. Lysandre lost. "It's over... Fools with no vision will continue to befoul this beautiful world. They will go on until the only thing left to do is squabble over the remaining scraps of hope..."_

_"Um… Know what I think? Even if there's only a little bit of something, it's still best to share it. Even you managed to use Mega Evolution… That's because Gyarados shared its power with you, didn't it? And not just Gyarados, but your other Pokémon, too…" Shauna mentioned, after Lysandre let out a cry of pain. "The Legendary Pokémon is gone, so you can't use the ultimate weapon anymore, right? You don't have to worry about the future all alone... Shouldn't everyone work together to make a beautiful world?" the boy motioned. "If that were possible, all wars would have ended long ago! I can only see one future! One where selfish, foolish humans think about nothing other than themselves and steal more and more from one another... It's a tragic future!" Lysandre snapped. "The original purpose of this device was to bring a Pokémon back to life. But the ancient king transformed it into this ultimate weapon... Hmm. When the Legendary Pokémon awakened, it took back much of its energy-its power-that had been sent to the ultimate weapon. There's not much power left... But there IS enough to use it once..." Lysandre motioned sinisterly and said, "The ultimate weapon is a flower that bloomed to no avail... Just like me... But this ends here! I will show what its remaining power can do!" Without thinking, the boy motioned to the two and shouted, "Serena! Shauna! Let's get out of here!" He grabbed the girl's hand. He noticed that it was surprisingly warm._

_They made it out of the collapsing cave alive. Presumably, Team Flare was buried under all the rubble, dead. The ultimate weapon fired and disintegrated, leaving a giant hole in the ground and many toppled houses in its wake. Many congratulations and sighs of relief were exchange, but after everyone else left, only the boy and the girl were left. The boy didn't know what to say to prevent things from being awkward, so he let his mouth do the talking for him. "Thanks, Serena. I respect you as a friend. That's why I want to beat you in a battle as you rival!" The girl seemed to smile, but as he walked away, he noticed something wrong. Something snapped within the girl. She became less of a girl, more of a lady. Harsh, hurting, dejected, she walked back to the Pokémon Center. It looked like she was crying a bit, with her posture down, she's looking very sad. All this, he saw as he walked out. Why was she crying? She just saved the entirety of Kalos for crying out loud. Was it all the stress? Was it something he said? He thought it was the former. He sped away from Geosenge to continue his adventure, as his neck was burning for the past few hours already._

* * *

"Yeah, I noticed that too. That's her alright."

"You saw her? Where?"

"That's not important. She left right after. But please continue. I'd like to know something."

"What might that be?"

"Her reason for depression."

"Oh. By that time, I was sure of my feelings after consulting with Shauna about what exactly was it. So, I ran to Snowbelle, where I found out from Wulfric, the local Gym Leader, that she's taking the Pokémon League Challenge, so I tried to catch up to her at Victory Road."

_The boy's face begins blushing._

"I just realized that I always had to play catch-up. Again, and again, and again, and again. But why was I always doing this? Was I a masochist? No. I just wanted to get closer to her."

"What exactly did you say to her?"

"Well, let me try to piece things together. She was unfeeling also during the parade. She didn't bother talking to me. But this incident at Victory Road, before she became Champion? This one's messed up."

* * *

_"Serena, wait up!" The boy was nearly out of breath. Victory Road was arduous for him. He's likely to get wrecked, defeated and swept away by her, but he would like to say something, namely, his feelings for her. However, what he said next would mess it up. He was unspeakably dense at the time, only learning through another source. He didn't know what to say. The lady turned to face him. "I've been thinking ever since that incident in Geosenge. Lysandre chose only Team Flare. You and I chose everyone but Team Flare. But since our positions forced our hands, you can't really say any of us were right. So maybe... If both sides have something to say, it's best to meet halfway... SO I decided that from now on, I don't want to battle just to win but to see how you and your Pokémon think and feel! And that's the kind of Pokémon battle I'm challenging you to now!" Pokémon battles was all he could say. He silently cursed himself, as the lady put on a serious face and prepared her Poké Balls. It was going to end badly for the boy. He was determined to put on his best fight. He sent out Meowstic. The lady looked annoyed and sent out Aegislash. Meowstic used Shadow Ball, but to little effect. Aegislash took the hit like a champ. It then used Swords Dance. Aegislash did another Swords Dance, while Meowstic used Shadow Ball. Little effect again. Aegislash did another Swords Dance, while Meowstic used Shadow Ball. It was beginning to have a serious effect on Aegislash, but nothing was done by the lady to heal it. The boy thought he had a chance to win. He thought that Meowstic might actually beat Aegislash, a long way from its original Honedge form. He commanded Meowstic to use Shadow Ball. However, Aegislash used Shadow Sneak and went first. Meowstic crumpled easily under the force of that hit. He sent out his Absol next. Aegislash switched to its Shield form to protect itself while Absol tried to use Night Slash. Night Slash failed, and Absol's Attack was lowered for its effort. It tried Night Slash again. It hit, but it didn't down Aegislash. Aegislash then used Sacred Sword. Absol crumbled under the strong hit, and fainted. It was the same story with the Vaporeon and Altaria. They easily crumpled under the boosted Shadow Sneak. It was a one-hit knockout. The boy was expecting the worst when he sent out his Chesnaught. Of all its moves, only Seed Bomb would hit Aegislash. He was miserable. He didn't even stand a chance. He commanded his Chesnaught to use Seed Bomb, but it was fultile, and the boy knew it. Aegislash then used Shadow Sneak. It was all over. The lady won. She commanded Aegislash back. _

_"It's hard to put a finger on where, but I think you and I are alike. And that's why I don't want to lose to you. But I think the reason we're alike is because we have so much in common. I'm really happy that we're __**friends**__." The boy said, blushing. He was about to say something more, but he was interrupted by an unseemly voice. "Just friends?" the lady asked harshly. "Serena, you can talk?" the boy asked. "That doesn't matter at the moment. But really? Just friends? Am… Am I not worthy?" the lady asked. "What do you mean by that?" The boy asked in response. "Am I really just a… __**friend?" **__The lady asked. She then laughed hysterically. "So, for all this time, I thought you were coming on to me, I was finally open to the idea, and you just want to… be… __**friends?**__ Oh, that's brilliant…" She then sped away as fast as she can from the boy. Tears flowed from her cheeks to the ground. The boy saw the stream down. He placed his hand to his forehead and said, "Oh, I messed up. So bad. This is horrible…" Dejected, he flew back to Vaniville to cry a little in his room. A short while later, after making himself lunch, the boy turned on his TV. He saw breaking news of a new Champion. It was her. She didn't seem all too happy though. Maybe it was because of him? Professor Sycamore then arrived. He told him to go to Lumiose City for the parade. In the parade, he tried to get the lady to notice him, but she didn't bother. She just stayed hard-faced as she took the challenge from this strange man, purported to be the king of old Kalos, AZ. Her features only softened when she saw AZ reunite with his Floette after 3000 years. It was touching. Many cried in the crowd. But immediately after, she fled from the scene. The boy now does not know where in Kalos she is._

* * *

"And so, that's that."

"Honestly, you didn't see her signs?"

"…Now that you didn't think about it, it's weird how she doesn't talk."

"And?"

"Well, I just realized something."

"What?"

"She seemed so reluctant to battle me."

"Why do you say that?"

_ "_Her lips curl into a frown whenever I battle her, and she just lets her Pokémon do the commands. Every time she wins against me, she doesn't smile that much. In fact, every time I make a remark about my flagging self-esteem, she actually frowns and looks very troubled."

"Well, what do you want to do now? I know both sides of the story, Yours was your immense denseness and inability to express your feelings into words."

"…Touché."

"And hers was the inability to speak out her feelings as well. If she actually confessed earlier, then you wouldn't be in this mess. If you spoke out, she wouldn't be in this mess. So I ask again. What do you want to do?"

"I want to make it up to her. To make things right."

_The professor thought quickly on what to do. He wanted to help. Then he remembered something. He had spare tickets to Kiloude. Maybe he could set the two up? Yes. He will do that._

"Alright, have a ticket to Kiloude. I'm sure the Battle Maison will help you clear your mind better than going around in Cafes looking for her."

"But how can I survive? That's where the best of trainers go."

"I'll pull some strings to get you a Mega Ring. I'm sure the Tower of Mastery would have found you another one."

"That would be great, Professor, but which Pokémon of mine could use Mega Evolution. I, for one, know that all of your Pokémon from Kanto could use it. Her Blaziken can as well. But what else. For one, your Absol. And I'll ask if they could provide you an Absolite for you. Nothing in return from me, other than to see these problems cease. Pack your bags, Calem. We're going to Shalour. After that, you go to Kiloude. By then, you're good enough to battle the Maison."

"Thanks, Professor!"

"No problem. Shall we?"

_And so, the two walked out of Café Soliel. The professor's plan to get them closer is starting off without a hitch. Now all he has to do is to deal with the lady. As long as he tells no one else of this plan, everything will go off without a hitch. He's putting his other plans aside. This better be worth the trouble._

* * *

(FINN) A/N: He's setting up for the twist, just like how Serena set up for Shadow Sneak. Note that most of the lines and the Pokémon's used and their movesets also come directly from the game, bar Serena's, which were from my playthrough. There's a defining difference though, and it's easy to spot. Quotes were taken from Pokémon X and Y, via Bulbapedia. Calem's doing well in comparison, huh? He's learnt to deal with it.

(ME) A/N: For the record, this guy writes Romance fics better than me. I'll just stick to sci-fi and stuff.


End file.
